I take the stairs gingerly, finding my father coming up to meet me. "Sorry, I should have been down here sooner," I grunt out. As much as I should be ashamed to need his help, I'm fucking lucky to be alive so I'll take all the assistance I can to get back to one hundred.
"Don't rush, Junior. You need to be resting as much as possible," he reminds me. Everyone's watching as we make the final step, and James brings over the wheelchair. I hate to say I need it, but I'm fucking beat. I've only been out of the hospital two days after catching an infection which was more dangerous than my initial injuries.
"Dean, you're here," Emily calls out, giving my girl an excuse to speak. She gets so nervous around me.
"I couldn't miss celebrating with the rest of you. Congratulations, Em, Greta." She looks up at me in surprise at the mention of her name like she hadn’t expected me to address her. I don't take my eyes off Greta until she ducks her head, but I can still see the blush spreading across her cheeks. Damn, I'm glad I'm sitting in this chair or I'd embarrass myself.
"Dean, thank you. You should be resting," Greta scolds me like a good wife. Damn, I want to bite that pouty lip of hers. She's lucky I'm forced to wait.
"I've rested enough. Time to have some fun,” I growl, refusing to stop smiling.
"You're right! Who's ready to eat?" I silently thank my mother for breaking the tension because my dick’s so hard right now, I can use it as a cane.
"Me," Emily shouts, nudging past James.
"Of course," Becky giggles, rolling her eyes at Em who is always hungry.
"Sweetie, did you take your meds?" my mother asks. She truly lives up to the name Angel.
"Yes, Mom."
"So no alcohol. I just wanted to make sure before I forget."
"No problem." I roll up next to Greta who stands there looking nervous.
"Are you okay, Greta?"
"Yes, it's just...It breaks my heart to see you like this. Does it hurt a lot?" She bites her bottom lip and I want to pull her onto my lap and let her know my injuries can be made better by her.
"Not that bad, baby. I'm going to be okay in time. I promise." I take her hand and bring it to my lips.
"Okay, enough of that. You've got a long way to go." Greta's face turns crimson, and I flip off my brother Benji who decides to come behind me and push me into the kitchen. "Remember to take it easy or you won't heal as fast as you want." I suppose he does have a point. I want to make sure I devote my entire energy to healing so that I can be with Greta once her birthday comes. The rest of the night is fun, but I’m worn out early.
Sleep doesn’t come easy until I pop the pills I’m supposed to take and then my mind goes into dream mode. Greta has starred in most of the dreams and many of the nightmares that I’ve had. It’s the fear that we can never be together that fuels the bad ones, but the good ones are driven by pure lust and hunger.
This morning is my first home session of PT and I’m not looking forward to it. The guy coming works with a lot of the officers and gets them up and running quickly, but he’s also a handsome, brawny son of a bitch and I don’t want my girl around him.
As I get ready for breakfast, I lose my appetite when I spot Greta in a pair of too cute shorts. "What are you wearing?" I snarl out.
"It looks like clothes. Don't start shit with me, Dean. I'm not one of your sisters. My shorts are a normal length."
"Ouch," Benji says, walking into the kitchen.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Wow, so your temper isn't just for our adorable guest. I happen to have a meeting with Dad about something, so mind your business."
"Asshole," I bite out.
"I was going to offer you some coffee, but since you're going to be rude. I'll only ask Greta."
"I'll take a cup. Becks and I are heading out to walk the dogs."
"Awesome. I'll go with you while Dean has his therapy."
"Is that what's up your ass this morning? Are you worried about it?"
"No," I grumble.
"Good. I'm sure you can handle it." She takes the cup from Benji and gives him a "thanks."
"Do you want a cup?" she asks me.
"No. I need some water though." I wheel myself over to the fridge and take a cup Benji hands me before pressing it into the refrigerator.
"Greta. There you are," Becks cheers. "Are you ready?"
"Yep. I need some exercise, but I refuse to run on the treadmill. Walking is the most anyone is going to get out of me." I make a mental note of that. I used to run five miles a day and I have an entire gym set up in one of the rooms in my condo.
"Oh and Dean, your therapist just showed up. Greta, you have to see this guy. He's freaking hot."
"Don't you have some dogs to fucking walk?" I bark out. The thought of Greta meeting someone else makes me insane with jealousy.
"So jealous," Benji chuckles. Greta looks at me as if a lightbulb goes off in her head, understanding my shitty attitude I tossed at her. She shakes her head and leaves with Becks.
I toss a glare at my brother. "Calm down. Remember you have to wait for her, so don't push her away. She's seeing a new side of you and it's not a good one." He walks out as well. I finish my water and wheel my ass out to the living room where Becks and my woman are being greeted by Jimmy the meathead McClain.
"They're too young for you," I snarl out. They all turn to me. "If you can't keep your eyes to yourself, I can find another therapist."
"You need one for your head," Becks says, leaving an open-mouthed Greta to stare at me. Her face is completely red, but I'm the one making an ass of myself. “Come on. Let’s go before my brother turns into a beast or something.” She hooks the dogs onto their leashes, and they walk out without another word to me.
"I'm not after your sister. The other one will be legal in a couple of months."
"How the fuck did you learn that?"
"Your sister told me." I’m really going to strangle my family. I feel like they’re tormenting me on purpose.
"Get out of my house and don't come back. If you ever come near Greta, I'll rip your balls off and stuff them down that big mouth of yours." He quickly grabs his bag and leaves.
"Hey, son. What's that all about?"
"He wants my Greta."
"We need to talk about that. I know it's hard for you, but you have to get your emotions under control. You can't chase away the best therapist because you think someone's after her because she's pretty."
I cock my head to the side and snarl out, "He fucking said so, Dad."
"Oh shit. Okay. Well where is Greta?"
"She took the dogs out walking with Becks."
"Okay. So let’s get you a new therapist. Hopefully one that doesn't have eyes for your woman."
An hour later another physical therapist arrives while the girls are still out. Thankfully, this one isn’t interested in my woman. I’m halfway through my workout when they come back, but she doesn’t come to see me. I know she’s mad for the asshole way I acted. I’m honestly sorry for it, but there’s no way to get through this knowing that I can’t make it official between us.